Posted on June 6, 2012 by glasspaperweight
reviewed by Michael Thomas
Ever listen to an album and then sit and ponder what it’s all about? As someone who writes about albums fairly frequently, I do this a lot. But this album from Toronto-based Future History is one that I don’t think I’ve even begun to crack, even with three listenings under my belt.
Loss:/self, as the band describes on its Bandcamp page, is a concept album, with songs referring back to the album title; many songs seem to be about the loss of self, in other words, losing track of who one is.
Though the theme sounds clear enough, the album is one of the densest I’ve heard in quite a while. Melodically, the album does have its basic guitar, drums and bass. But it also employs keyboards and synths, and the end of the song “Hold On/Let Go” seems to include some kind ofStomp-esque percussion at the end.
The opening song, the very lengthy “Ornamental State,” welcomes the listener with acoustic and electric guitars, and the opening line of “Hello, welcome, what brings you here?” It transitions into the ultra-catchy “Leaves,” which starts off with catchy electric guitar and synths along with lots of great background vocals.
“Good Little Robot” seems to be about becoming an automaton- becoming thoughtless and performing the same routines over and over again. It flows well into the interlude number “The Unfortunate Occupation of the Machine Man.” It features snippets of what sounds like a kid trying to tell a fairy-tale-esque story, and I believe it’s the track that also features a sample of a whale’s calls. The whale call is significant, because it was from a whale whose cries were a different frequency from its friends and was therefore ostracized because of it.
I’ve realized this review is really hard to write, because Future History have a very distinct sound but it’s one that I can’t immediately place my finger on. It’s idiosyncratic, I suppose; I would immediately know it’s Future History but couldn’t explain how I knew. Songs like “The Changing” prove this point to be true. It starts with a prominent keyboard, but it quickly morphs into the sound that I’ve become to associate with this band.
“In This Sleep:/Creatures” brings the journey to an end on a high note. Rather than fade away, the last song gets louder than ever.
I don’t know if I’ve really said all that much in this review, and that’s just a testament to this album. It’s telling that, on Future History’s Bandcamp page, there’s a line that says “This is a trip of a record… be prepared.” That it is.
Loss:/self is available via Bandcamp.
Top Tracks: “Leaves”; “(Don’t) Let This Go”; “Hold On/Let Go”
Rating: Proud Hoot (Really Good)
Source: http://grayowlpoint.com/2012/06/06/review-lossself-future-history/